Oscillating system for impregnating sheet material



E. w. SMITH 2,741,111

OSCILLATING SYSTEM FOR IMPREGNATING SHEET MATERIAL April 10, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 11, 1952 FIG. 2

INVENTOR- Q/der h- 307/ 5 BY April 10, 1956 E. w. SMITH 2,741,111

OSCILLATING SYSTEM FOR IMPREGNATING SHEET MATERIAL Filed March 11, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 l I I I] I I I I l I l 78 l: I 1 I l5 l6 li l. 1 33 5Q %3? ,7/ MM W l 2/ A 2! V \/"\I I? FIG. E 36 @L o I 4F 38 37 57 INVENTOR.

[6/104 M W- Smnh April 10, 1956 E. w. SMITH 2,741,111

1" bcfilmmc SYSTEM FOR IMPREGNATING SHEET MATERIAL Filed March 11, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 My w 4 44 INVENTOR. dward M shzfl Unite States OSCILLA'HNG SYSTEM non mic-actuators srmnr MATERIAL Edward W. Smith, Melrose'I-Iighlands, Mass. Application March 11, 1952, Serial'No. 275,954

12 Claims. (Cl.68175) of the goods in the liquid in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the goods.

This latter method in particular has beenfourid to produce good results in certain instances but has been greatly reduced in its efiectiveness because of the forces required to produce this type'of motion in the goods at a rapid rate.

For efiicient operation it is desirable to impregnate the material ina continuous operation process. One method is to move'thematerial very slowly over a'large vibrating surface tobe' assured that each part of theteXtile material is thoroughly treated. The material is usually moved slowly in such cases sincethe-timethe material is treated is inversely proportional to the speed of motion "of the material. in thepreseut invention the whole of the material in the impregnating bath'is vibrated and therefore subjected directly tojthe impregnatingforces-developed in the liquid andaapplied tosubstantially 'all the 'materialfin the bath. This "permits the ;material to be sentthroug'h'the bath at a moreefficient speed so that a greater amount of material canbe treated ,than could otherwise underthe' slower method of the prior art.

The mechanical system of the present invention.preferably incorporates features of the torsional :dri vejdisclosed in my UyS. Letters Patent No. 2 ,6(-)4,669,iis sued July '29, 1 9 52, entitledllofier Combs, whichmakes possible a simple and very efiicient driving system; 7

A further advantage in the presentinvention is that bymeansgof the mechanical moving system a balanced torsional efiect is obtained between the mass at one end of atorsional rod and the mass at'the other end so that the masses are most efiiciently'employed and all the energy in the system is useful energy. 7 v

A further advantage of the'present system is that by adjusting the masses at'each-end of thetorsionally oscillating s ystem, a desired amplitude ratio maybe obtained so that a chosen amplitudeiof motion may be reached.

Theinvention will be further described in the specification set forth below when taken in connection with the drawings forming a part thereof, in which:

Figure 1 shows somewhat diagrammatically an embodimentof'the present invention corresponding to a-section on the line 1 1 of Figure 2. V

Eigure Z shows a transverse section of Figurel.

I fFigu're '3 shows a side view of the device of Figure 2 as seerifromtheleft ofFigure'Z, p, V

4 shows aplan view of airnodified'form' ofthe ihventionshown in Figures 1 3 inclusive, and,

atent Figure 5 shows a' section taken substantially on the line 55tof Figure 4, and,

Figure 6 shows .a' partial elevation looking upwards from the lower side of Figure 4.

The means 'whereby a substantial improvement in this respect has been effected in the present instance can best be understood from a reference to Figure 1, Where '1 is a tank of suitable construction to hold the liquid involved. 'The incoming" goods at A are passed over a series or rolls '2 and'down into the body of the'liquid where they .pass around another series of rolls 3, thus making successive loops .of the goods in the itank 1. In the present :inventionthegoods in passing down into the liquid from rolls 2to rolls 3, pass between pairs'of narrow bars 4 which may conveniently be circular in cross section and which are supported and held at their ends by' the T'-shaped frames 5. Similarly, in passing upward again from rolls '3 to rolls 2, the goods may pass again between anotheripair of similar guide bars 4 which are also similarly supportedand' held at their ends by the 'T-shape'd fra'mestS.

By reference to'Pigure 2 it will be noted that the T- shaped frames 5 are secured to a cylindrical torque tube 6. Passing through the torque tube 6, and concentric with it, 'is 'a torsion 'shaft7 whose purpose will presently become'clear. The torsion sha'ft'7 has secured to it by welding, or other' suitable means, a fiangefS which is solidly secured tofiange' 'on the end of the torque t'u'be '6by bolts 10. p p

On the insideof the otherien'd of the torque tube 6, and concentric with it,is a sleeve or other suitablebearing 11 'throughwhich'the'torsion shaft 7'jpasses-and1in which it is free toangularly move with respect to the torquetubefi. fOnl'the oppo site side of 'the tor'quetube '6 is disposed abar1 2solidlysecured at its ends to extensions of the T-s'haped' members zi, and acts as a counterbalancefor the g'uide"bars4 and 4 sotha't'the axis of rotation ofthe system passes through the ce'nter of gravity.

' At the outerend of torsion "shaft 7, 'and-beyondthepoint where it passes through the bearing ll, an inertia -elenient 13 is solidly secured to thetorsion shaft 7, as for instance by means of the radial boItsZZ, Figure 3. The moment of inertia of element I3'with weights 15 at each end may be conveniently chosenlto bel'the same as the inertiaof the combination consistingof'guide bars 4 and 4,"'t shaped frames'S, which together 'withthe' guide barsfrom the yoke, torque tube 6, and counterbalance 12, which -while surrounding and concentricwith torsion sh'aft 7, is solidly secured to the opposite end'of'thetorsio'n shaffTas has already been explained. The whole arrangement is supported on bearings 1411s which it is free to turn.

If, now, a sinusoidally oscillating torque as explained "below isapplied 'tothe'end of the torsion shaft 7 at the point where it is securedtoinertia element 13,1inertia element 13 will o'scillate'torsionally aboutthe aids of's'haft '7 audio so doing will twist'shaft 7.

The above described arrangement consisting of the inertia element 13secured at one .end of the. torsion shaft 7, the other end of whichis solidly secured to the assembly consisting of guide bars 4 and 4, T-shaped frames 5, torque. tube 6,'and counterbalance i2,- constitutes a torsionally resonant system having two degrees of freedom, i.- e. during oscillation the inertia elenient 1'3 oscillated at the same frequency as the assembly just described, but in the oppositedirection when the oscillating torque mentioned above as being applied to the end of torsion sha ft 7 has the same frequency as the natural period of the system, Thus when the inertia element 13 is moving" counterclockwise, the assembly just describedismovirig'cleckwise and vice versa. Furthermore the angular amplitude of the two ends of "torque shaft 7 will be inversely proportional to the inertias to which they are connected.

The method by which the sinusoidally oscillating torque may be applied to inertia element 13, and consequently to that end of shaft 7, and the method whereby a multiplicity of such systems may be made to operate from a single driving source, is shown in Figure 3.

A connecting rod 16 is secured to one of the inertia weights 15, at the end of inertia element 13 via a bearing 17, and a similar bearing 18 is provided at the other end of crankshaft connecting rod 16 which secures it to eccentric 19 rotating on shaft 20. If a multiplicity of such torsionally oscillating systems are to be driven from the same source, this can conveniently be done by connecting the second, or more, systems to the first by the use of interconnecting rods 21. By this means as many of the torsionally oscillating systems as may be desired, may be driven from the same source.

Coming now to the design of a specific system, it will be assumed that a desired frequency of oscillation has been chosen and also the maximum amplitude of oscillation either side of the neutral position. The maximum torque required to give the necessary acceleration to the inertia of the combination consisting of the guide bars 4 and 4, frames 5, torque tube 6, and counterbalance 12 may be determined from the relationship .to operate on a 24 hour per day basis, for which reason the maximum fiber stress in the shaft should be kept at a relatively low figure which I prefer to set at l0,00015,000

' pounds per square inch. Assuming that the lower figure is chosen the shaft diameter may be determined from the following relationship 16T 10,000 where d is the torsion shaft diameter in inches, T the maximum torque in inch pounds already determined, and the factor 10,000 is, of course, the fiber stress value chosen.

The required length of the torsion shaft may then be determined from the relationship f where L is the length of the torsion shaft from the nodal point to the point where it is solidly secured to the inertia system being driven, i. e. to the flange 8, d is the shaft diameter in inches just obtained, I is the moment of inertia on a weight basis of the combination of guide bars 4 and 4, frames 5, torque tube 6 and counterbalance 12, f is the frequency of oscillation in cycles per second, and the factor 3400 derives from the assumption that the shaft is made of a material having a torsional modulus of elasticity of 12,000,000 lbs. sq./in.

Earlier it was pointed out that the inertia of inertia element 13 may conveniently be chosen to be the same' as that of the driven combination in which case the nodal point will occur at the midpoint of torsion shaft 7, i. e. half-way between the flange 8 and the point where the inertia element 13 is secured to shaft 7. In other words, the total length of the shaft 7 under these conditions between the above points will be twice the value of L as determined above.

' While, as has been mentioned above, I prefer to make the inertia of element 13 the same as the driven system thus bringing the nodal point to the center of the active portion of shaft 7, it is possible to permit of a certain amount of variation in this respect. Thus if it is found that the value of L, or rather of 2L, becomes conveniently long under a given set of conditions, this situation may be alleviated by making the inertia of inertia element 13 greater than that of the driven system. Under these conditions the distance between the nodal point and the point where inertia element 13 is secured to the torque shaft 7 may be reduced because the ratio of this distance to the distance between the nodal point and the flange 8 is inversely proportional to the ratio of the inertia of element 13 to the inertia of the driven system.

It will be understood from the above that in the above described arrangement, the initial effect of the eccentric at starting is to supply energy to the oscillating system consisting of a shaft 7 on one end of which is secured the inertia element 13 and on the other end of which is secured the system to be oscillated. Since, as has been already mentioned, at resonance the two inertias just described are moving at all times in opposite directions, they therefore are twisting the torsion shaft 7 in opposite directions at either end so that as a result the nodal point stands still. In effect, therefore, the eccentric supplies initially sufficient energy to supply the necessary kinetic energy to the moving inertias which energy is transferred back and forth from kinetic energy in the moving inertias to potential energy in the twisted shaft at the end of the stroke where momentarily the inertias are at rest.

Thereafter the eccentric supplies only energy used up in friction losses in moving the goods through the liquid which is many times less than what would be required to move the frame in addition at each stroke as is the case with the ordinary method.

A modification of the arrangement shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. In this case the oscillations of the rolls through which the material is passed in the tank is moved up and down and a some- What simplified drive is used.

A drive shaft 30 is mounted similarly to the drive shaft 7 of Figure 2 with a bearing support 31 at one end of the tank, the non-driving end and another bearing 32 at the opposite side of the tank through which the shaft extends for connection with the oscillating drive. This is shown more clearly in Figure 6 and comprises a hub 33 in which the shaft 30 is firmly secured, which hub carries two inertia balancing masses, 34, 34, at the ends of arms 35, 35, extending from the sides of the hub along the tank,

A further arm 36 extends downward from the hub 33 and has at its end a disk plate 37 which has a pivoting pin 38 to which the link shaft 39 is attached which is driven by an eccentric drive similar to that shown in Figure 3. The drive shaft 30 has a plate 40 similar to the plate 8 welded to it, and plate 40 has a series of rivets 41 secured to a flange 42 of a torque tube 43 similarly as shown in Figure 2. The torsion shaft 30 which develops its maximum torsional amplitude at the .plate 40, imparts this movement to the torque tube 43 which at its other end adjacent the bearing 32 is free to oscillate on the self lubricating bearing 44. Extending from the tube 43 adjacent the sleeve 44 are two substantially horizontal arms 45 and 46 which are rigidly attached to the torque tube 43. These arms .45 and 46 carry horizontal slots 47 and 48 respectively (Figure 5), in which pins 49 and 50 carried by the vertical bars or rods 51 and 52 respectively, engage. These upwardly extending rods 51 and 52 move in guide bearings 53 and 54. The rods 51 and 52 carry at their bottom, brackets 55 and 56 in which are mounted a plurality of pairs of rolls. Each bracket 55 and 56 shows three pairs of rolls, 57, 58, 59 on the bracket 55, and 60, 61 and 62 on the bracket 56. The structure just described is at both sides of the sane-e the rolls,57,*58 an'd'59 and60g'61'and 62,e itend :acros's :the rtank at substantially the "same level "set in similar supporting members. These pairs of rolls-permit the sheetrnaterial'63to pass"between them. The rolls m'ay'be spring'tensioned against one another as by springs shown diagrammatically at 85), 80,"or;mounted so as to provide a desired grip or-pressure on I the material. The material 63 may be fed"between' a pair of 'feed'rolls 63', '64, 'down' intothe tank around -a'r'oll'65 and then directly through both fram'es through-a roll- '66 and out through the end rollsof the system 67, 67.

In the operation of the device in accordance with Figures 4, 5 and6, the arms '45 -ancl"46 onboth'ends of the t'a'nk will be oscillated by the'torque tube 43 to provide movement concentric with'the "shaft "30. As the shaft is driven by the eccentric drive the arms 51 and 52 will reciprocate up and dow'nand oscillate the brackets 55 and 56, forcing the liquid in the "tank into and through the sheet passing through the sets of, gripping rolls which are supportedinthe'brackets-55'andf56.

In the design in'Figures 4, 5 and "6, each half of the oscillating mechanism is balanced by the other. half and t rherefore there isnoneed enlarger inertia balancing elements for the-oscillatory system.

-Having now described *my invention, I claim:

'1. in a systenrfor impregnating sheet material with "liquid, an oscillatablesystem comprising a yoke formed of a pair of parallelgu'ide bar's between which a sheet may be drawn, a torsionally oscillatab le rod, bearingrneans for supporting'sai'd oscillatable rod parallel with said bars, atitbe coaxial with said ro'd h'a'v'ing afin's attached thereto for supporting said guide -b'a'rs, means rigidly attaching said rod and tube together at one end of the rod, means supporting the tube on said rod at the other end of the rod with a bearing positioned between the rod and the tube to permit oscillation of the tube, means for oscillating said red at its unattached end for providing oscillation of said guide bars and said sheet material.

2. In a system for impregnating sheet material with liquid, an oscillatable system comprising a yoke formed with an arm and a pair of parallel guide bars between which a sheet may be drawn, torsionally elastic oscillatable rod, heating means for supporting said oscillatable rod parallel with said bars, means for oscillating the oscillatable rod at one end, means connecting the oscillating rod at the other end to said arm, said oscillating rod serving as an elastic member, and the yoke attached at the other end serving as inertia mass for an oscillating resonant system embraced by said mass and elastic member.

3. In a system for impregnating sheet material with liquid, as oscillatable system comprising a yoke formed With a pair of parallel guide bars between which a sheet may be drawn, a torsionally elastic oscillatable rod, bearing means mounting said rod parallel with said bars, means for oscillating the oscillatable rod at one end, comprising an inertia counterbalancing bar mounted perpendicular to said oscillatable rod and secured to the same, a link member pivotally connected to said bar, a connecting rod linked to said link member and an eccentric drive connected to said connecting rod for imparting oscillatory movement to said oscillatable rod, means connecting the oscillatable rod at the other end to said yoke, said oscillatable rod serving as an elastic memer, and the yoke attached at the other end serving as inertia mass for an oscillatory resonant system embraced by said mass and elastic member.

4. In a system for impregnating sheet material with liquids, an oscillatory system comprising a plurality of yoke members each having a pair of parallel guide bars between which a sheet material may be successively passed, a torsionally oscillatable shaft for oscillating each pair of yoke members, means connecting each torsionally oscillatable shaft to each pair of said yoke members, a connecting bar connected to each of said oscillatable said oscillatable 'shaft'and attached at one end thereto,

and arm "members 'rigidlyfsecuring said yoke members to said coaxial tube, a connecting bar connected to each 'osciliatable shaft atftheirends and means for driving in tandem said connecting barswith reciprocating motion.

6. In a system for impregnating sheet material with liquids, an oscillatory system comprising a plurality of yoke members each formed of a pair of parallelguide bars between which a sheet material may be "successively passed, a torsionally elastic oscillatable shaft for oscillating each pair of yoke members, a frame structureffor supporting each pair of yoke members including a 'tube coaxial with said oscillatable shaft and attached at one end thereto, and arm members rigidly securing said yoke members to said coaxial tube, a connecting bar connected to each of said osc'illatable shafts at their other endsand means for driving in tandem said connecting bars with reciprocating motion, each oscillating shaft serving as an elastic member and the yoke attached at the other end serving as inertia mass providing an oscillatory resonant system embraced by said mass and elastic members, said masses having selected magnitudes providing amplitudes of oscillation in substantial reverse ratio thereto.

7. In a system for impregnating sheet material with liquids, an oscillatable system comprising a yoke formed of a pair of parallel guide bars between which a sheet may be drawn, a torsionally elastic oscillatable rod, bearing means for supporting said oscillatable rod, means connecting the oscillatable rod at one end to said guide bars, said oscillatable rod serving as an elastic member, means for oscillating the oscillatable rod at one end thereof with the yoke attached at the other end, said last mentioned means and yoke having elfectively equal mass magnitudes whereby the resonant system embraced by said masses and elastic members provides a balanced resonant system.

8. A system for impregnating porous sheet material with liquid comprising a adapted to contain the It; uids used in the impregnating system, a plurality of parallelly spaced rolls arranged alternately in the upper and lower sections of the tank and positioned to permit a sheet to be drawn over and under the same, a plurality of guide bars arranged in pairs between which pairs said sheet may be passed, a supporting bar at each end of said tank for supporting the ends of each pair of guide bars, a plurality of torsionally oscillatable rods, bearing means mounting said rods on said tank with said rod substantially parallel to said guide bars, a sleeve coaxial with each oscillatable rod having one end secured thereto and the other end freely mounted on said rod, said supporting bars each being rigidly secured to one of said sleeves, and means for torsionally oscillating said rods applied at the end not connected with said sleeve.

9. A system for impregnating porous sheet material with liquid comprising a tank adapted to contain the liquid used in the impregnating system, a plurality of parallelly spaced rolls arranged alternately in the upper and lower section of the tank and positioned to permit a sheet to be drawn over and under the same, a plurality of guide bars arranged in pairs between which pairs said sheet may be passed, a supporting bar at each end of said tank for supporting the ends of each pair of guide bars, a plurality of torsionally elastic oscillatable rods, bearing means mounting said rod on said tank with said rods substantially parallel to said guide bars, a sleeve coaxial with each oscillatable rod having one end secured thereto and the other freely mounted on said rod, said supporting bars being rigidly secured to said sleeves and means for torsionally oscillating said rods applied at the end not connected with said sleeve, forming a torsionally resonant system in which each oscillating rod provides an elastic member and the, yoke attached at the end of the rod provides inertia mass forming a balanced resonant system.

10.111 a system for impregnating sheet material with liquid, an oscillatory resonant system comprising a yoke formed with pairs of parallel guide bars between which a sheet may be drawn, means for imparting reciprocating movement to said sheet substantially normal to its surface including an elastic rod, means attached at one end of said elastic rod for imparting said reciprocal movement to said. elastic rod, and means attached at the other end of said elastic rod for reciprocally oscillating said yoke, saidslast two means having eitective mass magnitudes for establishing balanced resonance in said system.

11. In an apparatus for impregnating sheet material with liquid, an oscillatory resonant system for imparting reciprocating movement to a sheet which may be positioned substantially normal to its surface, comprising means adapted to engage the surface of the sheet for imparting oscillating vibrations thereto, means supporting said engaging means, a torsionally elastic member at tached at one end to said supporting means, and means for providing a mass magnitude attached at the other end of said elastic member having substantially the same inertia as said previously mentioned supporting means and the means engaging the surface of the sheet, completing is said oscillatory resonant system, and means for supplying oscillating vibrations to said system at substantially the resonant frequency of said system.

12. In an apparatus for impregnating sheet material with liquid, an oscillatory resonant system for imparting reciprocating movement to a sheet which may be positioned substantially normal to its surface, comprising means adapted to engage the surface of the sheet for imparting oscillating vibrations thereto, means supporting said engaging means, a torsionally elastic member attached at one end to said supporting means, and means for providing a mass magnitude attached at the other end of said elastic member for establishing a resonant system, and means for supplying oscillating vibrations to said system at substantially the resonant frequency of said system.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS Clarke Jan. 31, 1865 273,078 Higgins Feb. 27, 1883 656,315 Bottomley Aug. 21, 1900 1,052,399 Ashworth Feb. 4, 1913 11,146,461 Taylor July 13, 1915 1,383,021 Poetzsch June 28, 1921 1,555,864 McConnell Oct. 6, 1925 2,174,013 Schrey Sept. 26, 1939 FGREIGN PATENTS 473,549 Great Britain Oct. 14, 1937 845,852 France May 22, 1939 587,214 7 Great Britain Apr. 17, 1947 

1. IN A SYSTEM FOR IMPREGNATING SHEET MATERIAL WITH LIQUID, AN OSCILLATABLE SYSTEM COMPRISING A YOKE FORMED OF A PAIR OF PARALLEL GUIDE BARS BETWEEN WHICH A SHEET MAY BE DRAWN, A TORSIONALLY OSCILLATABLE ROD, BEARING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID OSCILLATABLE ROD PARALLEL WITH SAID BARS, A TUBE COAXIAL WITH SAID ROD HAVING ARMS ATTACHED THERETO FOR SUPPORTING SAID GUIDE BARS, MEANS RIGIDLY ATTACHING SAID ROD AND TUBE TOGETHER AT ONE END OF THE ROD, MEANS SUPPORTING THE TUBE ON SAID ROD AT THE OTHER END OF THE ROD WITH A BEARING POSITIONED BETWEEN THE ROD AND THE TUBE TO PERMIT OSCILLATION OF THE TUBE, MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID ROD AT ITS UNATTACHED END FOR PROVIDING OSCIALLATION OF SAID GUIDE BARS AND SAID SHEET MATERIAL. 